From social work to delivering groceries: Hong Kong civil servants cry foul over role changes amid coronavirus epidemic
- Union anger after members tasked with buying dragon fruit and pounds of fatty beef for residents stuck in quarantine
- Government urged to review its guidelines for dealing with outbreak and outsource services staff asked to provide
Hundreds of social workers in Hong Kong have been forced to stop counselling and deliver groceries instead amid the coronavirus epidemic, and they are not happy about it.
With thousands of residents under mandatory quarantine, the Social Welfare Department has tasked civil servants with providing help to those unable to go outside, including buying dragon fruit and pounds of fatty beef.
Now, a social workers’ union has expressed anger at the situation and urged the government to review its guidelines for dealing with the outbreak, and outsource services for the 3,500 people under quarantine the department has helped.
“The district officer directed their colleagues in Sha Tin to buy 20 boxes of dragon fruit from Yau Ma Tei and send them to Chun Yeung Estate,” said Leung Kin-hung, chairman of the Social Work Officer Grade Branch of the Hong Kong Civil Servants’ Association.
“We just don’t get it – do dragon fruit have some sort of herbal or medicinal properties that could help fight against the coronavirus?”
